According to Variety, Theron is in negotiations to join the project, which has Oscar winner Christopher McQuarrie working on a polish on the adaptation of the 2005 French thriller "Anthony Zimmer."

Julian Fellowes wrote the first draft of the script, which focuses on a female Interpol agent (Theron) who uses an American tourist as a pawn in a dangerous game involving her former lover, an elusive criminal.

Bharat Nalluri ("Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day") will direct "The Tourist," which could begin production as soon as March.

An Oscar winner for "Monster," Theron was most recently seen in the summer smash "Hancock." She has Guillermo Arriaga's "The Burning Plain" and the big screen version of "The Road" on tap.